History is not only the story of kings and battlesβit is also the story of ordinary hearts.
As Baekje grew powerful, trade flourished across the land. Merchants journeyed with ox-carts along dusty roads and sailed to distant shores. Yet every road meant someone left behind.
In those quiet villages, a different song roseβnot of armies or rulers, but of waiting wives.
One such melody became known as the Song of the Moonlight Road.
They say a woman once stood under the moonlight, waiting for her husband who had gone to the market. She worked by day, but at night her heart ached with worry and longing.
And so, she sang to the moon:
Old Lyrics (Jeongeupsa)
O moon, climb high into the night,
Shine your silver light afarβ
(ααα―ν λ
ΈνΌκ³° λααμ€)
Shine upon the roads he travels,
Guide him safely home to me.
(μ΄κΈμΌ 머리곰 λΉμ·¨μ€μλΌ)
Ah, my heartβhow it trembles!
(μ΄κΈμΌ μ΄κ°λ΄λ¦¬ μμΌ λ€λ‘±λ리)
Is he still lingering in the marketplace?
Tell me, moon, where his footsteps go.
(μ Έμ¬ λ
λ¬μ κ³ μ)
Watch that he not stumble, not falter,
Nor sink into the dark and troubled mire.
(μ΄κΈμΌ μ¦αα‘λ₯Ό λαα‘μμ
°λΌ)
Ah, my heartβhow it trembles!
(μ΄κΈμΌ μ΄κ°λ΄λ¦¬)
All the goods he carries, let them beβ
Let him leave them, let them fall aside.
(μ΄λμ΄λ€ λ
Έμ½μλΌ)
Only haste, only return, my loveβ
Before his heart grows weary, before his flame burns dim.
(μ΄κΈμΌ λ΄ κ°λ
Όαα‘ μ κ·Έα
αα―μ
°λΌ)
Ah, my heartβhow it trembles!
(μ΄κΈμΌ μ΄κ°λ΄λ¦¬ μμΌ λ€λ‘±λ리)
New Lyrics
Moonlight light, climb the sky,
Shine upon the road so high.
Guide his feet and guard his way,
Bring him safely home today.
Moonlight lightβ¦ climb the skyβ¦
Moonlight lightβ¦ guard his wayβ¦
Moonlight light, my heart is weak,
Moonlight light, the one I seek.
Do not let him stumble, fall,
Guide him home through shadows all.
Moonlight lightβah, ahβ
Moonlight lightβah, ahβ
Guide him back, guide him back,
Guide him home to me.
If his hands grow tired and sore,
Moonlight light, protect him more.
If his heart grows faint with fear,
Moonlight light, draw him near.
Moonlight lightβ¦ protect him moreβ¦
Moonlight lightβ¦ draw him nearβ¦
Goods may scatter, gold may fade,
None of it counts, no price is paid.
Let the burdens fall aside,
Only love must be my guide.
Moonlight light, so pale, so near,
Take away my trembling fear.
Tell me where his footsteps go,
Bring him safe from nightβs shadow.
Moonlight lightβah, ahβ
Moonlight lightβah, ahβ
Guide him back, guide him back,
Guide him home to me.
Moonlight light, across the sea,
Shine the path and let him see.
If the waters surge and rise,
Keep him safe beneath your eyes.
Moonlight lightβ¦ across the seaβ¦
Moonlight lightβ¦ beneath your eyesβ¦
Ah, my heartβhow it trembles!
Ah, my heartβhow it trembles!
Ah, my heartβhow it trembles!
Moonlight light! Moonlight light!
Guide himβhome to me!